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外籍 (wài jí) — (noun) foreign nationality (refers to people of foreign nationality; often used attributively)

Definition

外籍 means 'foreign nationality' and refers to people of foreign citizenship, used as an attributive before a noun (外籍教师, 外籍人士). It is more formal and written than 外来, and more specific to nationality than 外国.

noun
foreign nationality (refers to people of foreign nationality; often used attributively)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 外籍。
    Zhè wèi wài jí jiào shī jiào wǒ men yīng yǔ.
    This foreign teacher teaches us English.
  • 外籍。
    wài jí Rén shì zài zhōng guó xū yào bàn lǐ jū liú zhèng.
    Foreign nationals in China need to apply for a residence permit.
  • 外籍。
    Tā chí wài jí hù zhào rù jìng.
    He entered the country with a foreign passport.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

外wàiforeign
籍jínationality

外 means foreign and 籍 means nationality, so 外籍 refers to foreign nationality.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𥫗Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
耤
耤jí籍jí
Same sound today

籍 pairs 𥫗 (bamboo, written as 竹) with 耤 for the sound. The bamboo part is for bamboo census books.

Open 籍 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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